


Still in There

by Wxlipse



Series: 🐺Tangled the Series Oneshots [2]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)
Genre: All I wanna do is give Cass and Raps a hug, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, But I changed it up to fit this fic, Cassandra should've gotten her redemption in this episode, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, No Beta because I have no idea how that works, Post- Once a Handmaiden, References to the finale, Removing the New Dream tags since the focus is Cassunzel, So I'm making it happen in this fic, Though there isn't a lot of angst, Wow there is a lot of tags, Wxlipse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:46:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24159865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wxlipse/pseuds/Wxlipse
Summary: "I'm not sure what will happen, but I know Cass is still in there, and I'm willing to take the risk,"~~~Rapunzel tries to reach out to Cass one last time.The story occurs after Once a Handmaiden.
Relationships: Cassandra & Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Cassandra & Zhan Tiri, Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Rapunzel
Series: 🐺Tangled the Series Oneshots [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1782172
Comments: 8
Kudos: 45





	Still in There

**Author's Note:**

> Once a Handmaiden is one of my favorite episodes and I really wanted Cassandra to have her redemption in it. Unfortunately, we didn't get it until the finale. So, I came up with this fan-fiction. And Rapunzel confronting Cassandra alone was sort of inspired by Mushroom_Writes's stories that involve Rapunzel going to Cassandra's tower alone.
> 
> UPDATE: I decided to leave only a quote instead of three sentences from the story in the description.  
> UPDATE 2: I changed up some bits of Eugene and Rapunzel's interaction since this story focuses more on the Cassunzel parts.

Rapunzel paced back and forth outside the Snuggly Duckling. She could see the black rocks covering Corona from where she stood. And the princess knew the person who was responsible was still in Corona. 

"Why would Cass do this?" Rapunzel wrung her hands together, trying to remember the events that had occurred. She hadn't been there for the rest of it but knew what had set it off. 

Project Obsidian, huh? Zhan Tiri was right.

Cassandra's voice rang in her ears, making her shudder. Rapunzel recognized the rage in her voice after she broke out the amber. She closed her eyes and saw Cassandra's terrified expression as the amber encased her. 

"There's still hope for Cass," she told herself. Cassandra hadn't attacked the kingdom until the incident with the amber. With a plan formulating in her head, she dashed back into the Snuggly Duckling to get Eugene. 

~~~

In the throne room, Cassandra sat on Rapunzel's throne, holding her head in her hands. Black rocks surrounded her and provided protection. She stared at her reflection, feeling a strange but familiar feeling of emptiness. Then she laughed, her voice rough from yelling so much. 

"Some friend you are," she said aloud to no one in particular. She ruined her chance at redemption when the amber shot her. And when the one person she wanted to make things right with gave her a chance to retrieve it, she had rejected it. 

"Are you alright, Cassandra?" the young woman looked up to see Zhan Tiri standing beside her.

"Why are you here?" she asked, still not over what she had done. 

"Cassandra, you need to stop dwelling on things that aren't your fault," Zhan Tiri said. The shape-shifter took Cassandra's hands in hers. 

"To fulfill your destiny you must reunite the Sundrop and Moonstone," she confirmed. Cassandra stared at the demon and pulled her hands away.

"Can I be alone for now," she asked Zhan Tiri quietly. The demon nodded, leaving Cassandra by herself in the room once more.

~~~

"I know you think it's dangerous, but I have to do this," Rapunzel admitted, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. Eugene opened his mouth as if to say something, but Rapunzel beat him to it.

"You have to trust me with my decision," Rapunzel stated firmly, and Eugene looked at her, worried.

"I do trust you. But what if--?" Rapunzel looked towards the castle and sighed,

"I'm not sure what will happen, but I know Cass is still in there, and I'm willing to take the risk," she said, her green eyes full of confidence. Eugene thought for a moment and nodded in understanding.

"I'll tell the others where you went," he assured her, preparing to head back inside the pub, before turning to look back at her.

"And, Rapunzel? Good luck," Rapunzel dipped her head, waving back at him.

"You too," 

~~~

"Your destiny is to take the Sundrop," Cassandra repeated over and over again. But the more she said it, the more it sounded untrue. How would retrieving the Ultimate Power make the world see her for who she was? It would only make it fear her more, and leave her lost in the shadows. Corona already saw her as a villain, but she couldn't blame them. She had threatened their princess and destroyed the kingdom. Cassandra could list a hundred reasons why they could never forgive her. Perhaps her place in Rapunzel's story was to be the bad guy. 

After all, in most stories, the villain never got a happy ending.

"Don't think those thoughts," she snapped, but it did nothing. She bit her lip, her mind replaying her declaration on repeat.

You want me to be the bad guy? FINE. Now, I'm the bad guy. 

The sound of a door snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked up. Right in front of her was Rapunzel. Cassandra stared for a moment, surprised at seeing the princess again. Normally she would've attacked her, but she didn't have the energy to tap into her rage. 

"Hey, Raps," she whispered, and Rapunzel nodded, holding her hands together nervously.

"Hey, Cass,"

~~~

Rapunzel approached the throne room cautiously and took a deep breath.

"No going back now," she said and pushed open the large doors. She crept inside, expecting Cassandra to attack her. Instead, an eerie silence greeted her, and a cold wind blew through the broken windows. She walked around, inspecting the damage the black rocks had done. 

"Cassandra?" Rapunzel turned toward the figure curled up on the throne. Cassandra looked up and gave her a sad smile.

"Hey, Raps," 

~~~

The two women faced each other, unsure of what to say. Finally, Cassandra broke the silence.

"What are you doing here?" she asked the princess softly, gripping the arms of Rapunzel's throne.

"Cass, I only want to talk," Rapunzel explained, now face to face with Cassandra. Cassandra chuckled, making Rapunzel withdraw in confusion.

"When I wanted to do that, it ended in disaster," a few black rocks rose from the floor as Cassandra gestured to the damaged throne room.

"How will it be different now?" Rapunzel didn't say anything to her. Instead, she sat down, indicating for Cassandra to join her. Cassandra stared at her, surprised at how the princess wasn't attacking her. She raised an eyebrow, suspicious.

"How do I know this isn't another method to capture me?" she asked, now troubled that there may be others hiding somewhere. 

"Listen, Cass, I came here alone, so I could speak with you. I didn't even bring Pascal with me," Rapunzel said, and Cassandra nodded, standing up from the throne to join the blonde-haired girl. She sat cross-legged on the floor, directly in front of Rapunzel.

"I'm listening," Cassandra replied, waiting for Rapunzel to say what she had to say. 

"Cass, it was never my intention to fire on you," Rapunzel told her truthfully before continuing,

"I authorized Project Obsidian to protect Corona because we didn't know if you would attack us. When the amber trapped you, I didn't know what would happen. I never wanted to hurt you," she explained, wringing her hands together.

"I was scared," Rapunzel looked at Cassandra, surprised at the way she spoke. Cassandra glanced back at her, though not looking directly at her. Rapunzel indicates for her to continue what she wants to say. 

"When the amber shot me, I thought you had given up on me," Cassandra rasped, her head hanging low.

"I was terrified you saw me as your enemy, and no longer a friend. I wanted to prove Zhan Tiri wrong, and show her that you still cared about me," her voice began to break as she continued to talk. 

"That's why I was so angry with you. But I shouldn't have been! I should've listened to you instead! Rather than trusting an ancient demon who was manipulating me to get what they want. All I wanted to do was apologize, but I thought I didn't have a chance. But, I'm truly sorry for what I've done to you," she whispers that last part and waits for Rapunzel to do something. She doesn't notice that she is crying until Rapunzel brushes away a stray tear, causing her to look up. Rapunzel takes both of her hands and smiles at her.

"Cass, I never saw you as my enemy," she told Cassandra, the other woman's eyes widen in shock.

"But--," Cassandra begins, but Rapunzel interrupts her,

"And I always knew the Cassandra I loved was still in there somewhere. That's why I refused to give up on you, and I never will," she finished. 

Cassandra suddenly pulls away from her and stares down at her hands, covered in black rock. Then she lets out a sound that sounds like a mix between a sob and a laugh before she throws herself into Rapunzel's arms. She felt as if hearing these words had lifted a heavy burden off of her and rested her head on Rapunzel's shoulder. As Rapunzel holds her there, Cassandra feels content for the first time in a full year. All the anger she had been harboring against the princess dissipates. All those moments spent alone fearing that Rapunzel hated her vanished. She let herself open up to Rapunzel after months of being alone, and Cassandra leaned against the princess, able to think for herself after so long. As she pondered over her past mistakes, fears, and regrets, she realized the truth.

As long as Rapunzel and her friends still cared about her, everything would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> This took me quite awhile to finish to be honest, but I got it done in the end. By losing sleep XD. Oh, and go check out Mushroom Writes, their stories are amazing (not sure if they're a girl or boy yet because I don't ask people their gender.) And Mushroom, is it fine if I call you that? I hope you don't think I copied a sentence from one of your fics, oof. You're one of my favorite writers.
> 
> Wow, I'm advertising in a fic? Uh, alright then. Actually, I have no idea what I'm doing now. So, bye.


End file.
